As used herein, “malicious code” is any computer program, module, or piece of code that enters a computer system without the authorized user's knowledge and/or without the authorized user's consent. The term “malicious code” includes viruses, Trojan horse programs, and worms. The malicious code may or may not have the ability to replicate itself.
This invention has particular applicability to malicious code that has the ability to replicate itself from one computer to another, e.g., over a computer network. The computer network may be a closed proprietary network or an open network such as the Internet. Such malicious code is often referred to as a “worm”. Szor, Peter, “Attacks on Win32”, Virus Bulletin Conference, October 1998, England, and Szor, Peter, “Attacks on Win32—Part II”, Virus Bulletin Conference, September 2000, England, describe various attacks by malicious code, including worms, on computer systems, with particular applicability to the Win32 API (Application Programming Interface).